Shooting game



C. L. BREMER. SHOOTING GAME. APPLICATION men JULY 9. m9.

Patented D60. 9,1919. 2 sums-swan! g M A- mus/won Cit fion L.Bremen BYATTORNEYS WI TALE 88E 8 C. L. BREMER.

SHOOTING GAME. I APPLICATION FILED JULY 9. ms.

1,324,189. Patented Dec. 9,1919.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2- WITNESES INVENTOR I v cufimLBrmr A TTORA/E V8 GLIIETCNLONG BREIVIER, OF MILTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

SHOOTING GAME.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CLIFTON LONG BRE- Mnn, a citizen of the UnitedStates, residing at Milton, in the county of Norfolk and State ofMassachusetts, have invented new and useful Improvements in ShootingGames, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to amusement devices, particularly to shootinggames, and has for its object the provision of a game embodying a boardupon one end of which is disposed an imitation cannon or other fire armso mounted that it can be turned horizontally to aim at any one of a rowof soldiers or other targets disposed in front of a redoubt structuredisposedat the other end of the board and within which is disposed astriking device properly connected with the gun whereby upon movement ofthe gun and release of the striking device the striking device will becaused to strike against and knock down, from behind,one of thesoldiers.

An important object is the provision of a device of this character inwhich all the apparatus is concealed so as to mystify the operator as tothe means employed for knocking down the soldiers, no projectiles beingused in the gun.

Another object is the provision of a device of this character in whichthe redoubt structure is provided in back of the soldiers with holesthrough which the striking member is adapted to be projected, these.holes being comparatively small so that a considerable degree ofaccuracy in aiming the gun is necessary, another feature being that inthe event of a miss a sharp sound will be produced.

, Still another object is the provision of a device of this character inwhich means is provided whereby the soldiers after being knocked downmay be quickly and easily returned to their proper positions, thesoldiers being hinged upon the board.

An additional object is the provision of a device of this characterwhich will be simple and inexpensive in manufacture, highly eflicient inuse, durable in service, and

a general improvement-in the art.

With the above and other objects and advantages in view, the inventlonconslsts in the details of construction to be hereinafter Specificationof Letters Patent.

Application filed July 9, 1919.

Patented Dec. 9, 1919.

Serial No. 309,648.

more fully described and claimed, and illus trated in the accompanyingdrawings in which Figure 1 is a plan view of the device,

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View,

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view taken through the center, andFig. 4 is a detail plan view of the striking mechanism, a portion of theredoubt structure being shown in section. Referring more particularly tothe drawings, the numeral 10 designates a board which is provided withmarginal flanges 11. Upon one end of the board is mounted an inclosingstructure or casing 12 which is designated to represent a redoubt. Thetargets are figures 13 which are disposed upon the board 10 in arcuateformation in ad vance of the front wall 1 of the redoubt structure andwhich are hingedly connected with the board, as shown at 15. In thepresent illustration the targets are soldiers preferably in Germanuniforms.

Revolubly mounted for movement in a horizontal plane upon the other endof the board 10 is an imitation gun 16 which may be made to resemble acannon or machine gun if desired, and this gun is supported upon astandard 17 which extends through the board 10 and which has securedupon its lower end an arm 18. Disposed within the casing 12 and mountedfor swinging movement in a horizontal plane, is a striking devicedesignated broadly by the numeral 19 and including a standard 20revoluble through the board and carrying at its lower end a member 21including oppositely extending arms 22 and 23 of equal length. Pivotallyconnected with the end of the arm 18 associated with the gun, is a link24: which is pivotally connected at its other end with the arm 22 at apoint which on account of its shorter distan e from the standard willcause the striking device to turn more than the gun and in accordancewith the distance of the targets from the respective standards. Fromthis construction it will be seen that the gun and striking device willmove together.

In order that the striking device and consequently the gun, may be swungas in aiming. I provide a Windlass 25 mounted noon the top of the boardadjacent the gun. This Windlass comprises a double ended spool rotatablymounted within suitable bearings 26 and provided with a crank handle 27.A cord is provided which has the end of one stretch 28 connected withthe end of the arm 22 and which has the end of its other stretch 29connected with the end of the arm 23. This cord extends through suitableguides 30 on the underside of the board 10 and extends upwardly throughthe holes 31 in the board and has its inter mediate portion wrappedabout the Windlass, the windings on the two ends of the windlass beingin opposite directions, as shown at 32 and 33. From this construction itwill be seen that when the handle 27 is rotated the windlass will beturned and the cord will be wound and unwound upon the ends thereof soas to move the striking device and consequently the gun.

The striking device comprises an elongated supporting member 34: securedupon the upper end of the standard 20 and upon which are mounted guides35. A rod 36 which is a length of stiff wire is disposed upon thesupporting member and is slidable within the guides 35. The rod 36 isprovided with a cross member 37 to the ends of which are connected coilsprings 38 which are in turn connected with the support 3st so that thewire member 36 will be normally urged toward the front wall 14 of theredoubt or casing. The front wall 141 of the casing is provided back ofeach target 13 with a hole 39 through which the wire 36 is adapted to beprojected. At its other end the wire 36 is provided with a loop L0 withwhich is connected one end of a cord ll which is trained about a guidepulley 4-2 secured upon the back of the redoubt casing. This cordextends through a hole 43 in the board 10 and extends along theunderside of the board through suitable guides at, the other end of thecord extending through the flange 11 at the forward end of the board, asshown. At the proper point in its length the cord ll is provided with aknot 4-5 or other suitable projection, for a purpose to be described.

In order that the striking wire 36 may be held retracted with thesprings 38 under tension, I provide upon the underside of the board arigid block 46 with which cooperates a similar block 4-7 pivoted at 48and connected with one end of a coil spring 49 which has its other endsecured, as at 50, upon the board. When the end of the cord 41 whichprojects beyond the forward end of the board is pulled, the wire member36 will. be pulled rearwardly and the springs 38 placed under tension.The knot d5 should be in such position that when the cord t1 is pulledthe proper degree the knot will be engaged against the meeting edges ofthe blocks 46 and 1-7, the block 47 holding the cord 41 against theblock 46 by virtue of the spring 49. This will hold the striking meirther under tension or in other words, the gun is then supposed to beloaded.

In order to effect release of the striking member or to shoot the gun, Iprovide a cord 51 which is connected with the block 47, which is trainedthrough suitable guides 52, and which passes upwardly through a hole 31in the board. lVhen this cord 51is pulled the block l? will. be movedout of engagement with the cord &1 and knot 45 and the strikingmechanism will be released so that the wire 36 will be projected towardthe front of the redoubt. When the gun has been so aimed that the wire36 is in alinement with one of the holes 39 in the front wall, 1lof theredoubt and the striking mechanism is released as above ClBSCIlbGCl, thewire 36 will pass through the hole in the front wall and strike one ofthe soldiers 13 from behind, knocking him forwardly. In order that theprojection of the striking wire may not be visible the redoubt 12 iscovered with cloth 53 which hangs somewhat loosely in front of the frontwall.

In order that the soldiers may be returned to normal or upright positionafter being knocked down, I provide a cord 5% which extends along theunderside of the board through suitable guides 55 and to which areconnected other cords 56 which extend upwardly through holes 57 in theboard and which are connected with the backs of the soldiers 13; Theother end of the cord 54 projects beyond the front of the board forconvenient engagement by the operator.

The use of the device is as follows The soldiers are of course firstplaced in upri ht position by pulling upon the cord 54L. lhe operatorthen loads the gun by pulling the cord ll and placing the strikingmechanism under tension as previously described. He then grasps thehandle 27 and rotates the Windlass 25 to .aim the gun 16 toward asoldier. This movement of the Windlass turns the striking mechanism 10and also the gun. lVhen the operator thinks that he has the proper aim,he stops turning the windlass and pulls upon the cord 51 to release thestriking mechanism, whereupon the wire 36 will be moved forcibly towardthe front wall of the redoubt. If the aim has been properly made thewire 36 will be projected through one of the holes 39 in the redoubtwall and will strike the cloth covering 53 and the cloth will strikeagainst the soldier aimed at and knock him forward by virture of thehinge connection 15. In case the aim has not not been accurate the wire36 will not be in alinement with one of the holes 39 and when thestriking mechanism is released the wire 36 will strike against the frontwall and make a sharp sound. This aiming and shooting is continued untilall the soldiers are knocked assists down. When any one'or all of thesoldiers are'down and it is desired to reset them upon their feet, it ismerely necessary to pull upon the cord 54; whereupon they will bereturned to their normal positions.

From the foregoing description and a study of the drawings it will beapparent that I have thus provided a simply constructed and very easilyoperated shooting game which does not require the use of ammunition andwhich may therefore be used without the least danger and which will bevery amusing and entertaining.

While I have shown and described the preferred embodiment of myinvention, it is of course to be understood that I reserve the right tomake such changes in the form, construction, and arrangement of parts aswill not depart from the spirit of the invention or the scope of thesubjoined claims.

Having. thus described my invention, I claim 1. A- device of thecharacter described comprising a supporting board, an upstandmg casingat one end of said board provided in its front wall with a plurality ofholes, figures hingedly mounted upon said board adjacent said front walland in front of the holestherein, a striking device disposed within saidcasing and including a vertical standard journaled through said board,an elongated support on the upper end of said standard, a striking rodslidably mounted on said supporting member, and spring pressed towardsaid front wall, a member secured upon said standard beneath said boardand including oppositely extending arms, a gun mounted upon the standardand journaled through the other end of said board, an arm secured uponthe lower end of said gun standard, a link pivotally connected with saidlast named arm and with one of said first named arms, a Windlassjournaled on said board and provided with a handle, a cord having itsintermediate portion wound oppositely upon the ends of said Windlass andhaving the ends of its stretches connected with the ends of said firstnamed arms whereby to move said striking device and said gun in unison,a cord connected with said rod whereby said rod may be held undertension, means for gripping said last named cord for holding saidstriking device under tension, and means for releasing said holdingmeans.

2. In a device of the character described, a supporting board, anupstanding casing at one end thereof provided in its front wall with aplurality of holes, a cloth covering said front wall, a plurality offigures hinged upon said board in front of the holes in said front wall,a striking member within said casing including a standard journaledthrough said board, an elongated support on said standard, alongitudinally movable striking rod slidable upon said supportingmember, springs connected with said supporting member and saidrod'whereby tourge said rod toward said front wall, means for swingingsaid striking member in a horizontal plane, a flexible member connectedwith said rod whereby to place said springsunder tension, means forholding said flexible member for retaining said springs under pressure,and means for releasing said holding means. 3. In a device of thecharacter described comprising a board, an upstanding casing at one endthereof provided in its front wall with a plurality of holes, a clothcovering the front wall of said casing, a plurality of figures hingedupon said board in front of the holes in said casing, a striking memberwithin said casing and revolubly mounted upon said board for swingingmovement in a horizontal plane, means for turning said striking member,a flexible member connected with said striking memher for placing thesame under tension, a clamping member engaging said cord for holdingsaid cord against movement with said striking member under tension, anda cord connected with said clamping member whereby to effectdisengagement of the same from said flexible member.

4. In a device of the character described, a supporting board, aplurality of figures mounted at one end portion of the board, a strikingmember positioned rearwardly of said figures and having a standardjournaled through said board, a member on the lower end of said standardincluding oppositelv extending arms, a gun disposed at the other end ofthe board and having a standard journaled therethrough, an arm on thlower end of said gun standard, a link pivotally connected with saidlast named arm and one of said first named arms, and means connectedwith said first named arms for moving said first named standard andconsequently said gun stand ard. 5. In a device of the characterdescribed, a supporting board, a plurality of figures mounted at one endportion of the board, a striking member positioned rearwardly of saidfigures and having a standard journaled through said board, a member onthe lower end of said standard including oppositely extending. arms, agun disposed at the other end of said board and having a standardjournaled therethrough, an arm on the lower end of said gun standard, alink pivotally connected with said last named arm and one of said firstnamed arms, and means for moving said first named standard andconsequently said gun standard, said means comprising a Windlass mountedupon said board, and a flexible member having its intermediate portionwrapped about said Windlass and its ends hinged upon one end portion ofthe board,

a striking member positioned rearwardly of said figures, a gun disposedat the other end of the board, and means connecting said gun and saidstriking member whereby when the gun is moved to point at any one ofsaid figures the striking member will be correspondingly moved to be inposition to strike the figure aimed at from the rear.

7. In a device of the character described, a supporting board, astriking member at one end of said board comprising an elongatedsupport, a striking rod slidable 1ongitudinally upon said support,springs connected with said support and with said rod whereby to urgesaid rod in one direction, a flexible member connected with the otherend of said rod and provided with an enlargement, a stationary block onsaid board a second block pivoted upon said board, said blocks beingdisposed with said flexible member extending between them, a springconnected with said board and with said pivoted blocks for holding thelatter in clamping engagement with said flexible member, and a flexiblemember connected with said pivoted block whereby to move saidpivotedablock out of engagement with said firstnamed flexible member,the enlargement engaging against said blocks.

8. In a device of the character described, a supporting board, aplurality of figures mounted upon said board'at one end portion thereof,a striking member disposed tothe rear of said figures and revoluble uponthe board, means for placing said striking member under tension, meansoperable from the other end of said board for moving said strikingmember into position behind selected ones of said figures, and means forreleasing the tension. 7 4

9. A device of the character described comprising a supporting board, anupstanding casing at one end thereof provided in its front wall with aplurality of holes, a cloth covering the front wall of said casing, aplurality of figures disposed uponsaid board in front of the holes insaid casing,.a striking member within saidv casing revolubly mounted forswinging movement, means for turning said striking member, means forplacing said striking member under tension, and means for releasing thetension.

CLIFTON LON G BREMER.

